The Effect of BMI and Type 2 Diabetes on Socioeconomic Status: A Two-Sample Multivariable Mendelian Randomization Study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the independent causal effect of BMI and type 2 diabetes (T2D) on socioeconomic outcomes by applying two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed univariable and multivariable two-sample MR to jointly assess the effect of BMI and T2D on socioeconomic outcomes. We used overlapping genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms for BMI and T2D as instrumental variables. Their causal impact on household income and regional deprivation was assessed using summary-level data from the UK Biobank. RESULTS: In the univariable analysis, higher BMI was related to lower income (marginal effect of 1-SD increase in BMI [β = −0.092; 95% CI −0.138; −0.047]) and higher deprivation (β = 0.051; 95% CI 0.022; 0.079). In the multivariable MR, the effect of BMI controlling for diabetes was slightly lower for income and deprivation. Diabetes was not associated with these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: High BMI, but not diabetes, shows a causal link with socioeconomic outcomes.